Independent Press Top 40 Best Sellers

For the week ending

August 2nd, 2026

The Independent Publishers Caucus & NEIBA proudly presents the Independent Press Top 40 Bestsellers! In partnership with the American Booksellers Association, this new bestseller list identities the top titles from independent presses as represented at independent bookstores across the US.

FICTION

1. The Calamity Club
Kathryn Stockett, Spiegel & Grau, 9781954118812
2. The Odyssey
Homer, Emily Wilson (Transl.), Norton, 9780393356250
3. John of John 
Douglas Stuart, Grove Press, 9780802167194
4. I Who Have Never Known Men
Jacqueline Harpman, Transit Books, 9781945492600
5. Heart the Lover
Lily King, Grove Press, 9780802165176
6. The Iliad
Homer, Emily Wilson (Transl.), W. W. Norton & Company, 9781324076148
7. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1
Beth Brower, Rhysdon Press, 9780998063614
8. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2
Beth Brower, Rhysdon Press, 9780998063621
9. On the Calculation of Volume (Book I)
Solvej Balle, Barbara J. Haveland (Transl.), New Directions, 9780811237253
10. Taiwan Travelogue
Shuang-zi Yang, Graywolf Press, 9781644453155
11. Stoner
John Williams, NYRB Classics, 9781590171998
12. Small Things Like These
Claire Keegan, Grove Press, 9780802158741
13. I See You've Called in Dead
John Kenney, Zibby Publishing, 9798989923021
14. Lights Out (Into Darkness Series #1)
Navessa Allen, Slowburn, 9781638932239
15. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 3
Beth Brower, Rhysdon Press, 9780998063638
16. Harvest Season (The Seasons of Carnage Trilogy #2)
Brynne Weaver, Slowburn, 9781638932123
17. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4
Beth Brower, Rhysdon Press, 9780998063645
18. We Were Forbidden
Jacqueline Harpman, Transit Books, 9798893380583
19. Victorian Psycho: A Novel
Virginia Feito, Liveright, 9781324097785
20. Game On
Navessa Allen, Slowburn, 9781638932277
21. Writers & Lovers
Lily King, Grove Press, 9780802148544
22. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 5
Beth Brower, Rhysdon Press, 9780998063652
23. The Odyssey
Homer, University of Chicago Press, 9780226849225
24. The Employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd century
Olga Ravn, New Directions, 9780811234825
25. Culpability
Bruce Holsinger, Spiegel & Grau, 9781954118966
26. The Berry Pickers
Amanda Peters, Catapult, 9781646222384
27. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 6
Beth Brower, Rhysdon Press, 9781957492001
28. Foster
Claire Keegan, Grove Press, 9780802160140
29. The Very Definition of Love (The Bancroft Sisters)
Sophia Benoit, Slowburn, 9781638933557
30. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 8
Beth Brower, Rhysdon Press, 9781957492032
31. The Summer Book
Tove Jansson, NYRB Classics, 9781590172681
32. Orbital
Samantha Harvey, Grove Press, 9780802163622
33. Kindred
Octavia E. Butler, Beacon Press, 9780807083697
34. My Brilliant Friend
Elena Ferrante, Europa Editions, 9781609450786
35. Witch Hat Atelier 1
Kamome Shirahama, Kodansha Comics, 9781632367709
36. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 7
Beth Brower, Rhysdon Press, 9781957492018
37. The Covenant of Water
Abraham Verghese, Grove Press, 9780802162731
38. The King in Yellow
 Deluxe Edition, Robert W. Chambers, Pushkin Press, 9781782695653
39. The Overstory
Richard Powers, Norton, 9780393356687
40. Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story
Leonie Swann, Soho Crime, 9781641296823

NONFICTION

1. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,  Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, 9781571313560
2. This Is The Plan: How to End America's Meltdown and Save Democracy
Ben Wikler, W. W. Norton & Company, 9781324131434
3. The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald
John U. Bacon, Liveright, 9781324094647
4. The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss
Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris, W. W. Norton & Company, 9781324006848
5. Is a River Alive?
Robert Macfarlane, W. W. Norton & Company, 9781324130734
6. A Resistance History of the United States
Tad Stoermer, Steerforth, 9781586424367
7. Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature
Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, Spiegel & Grau, 9781966302407
8. The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate--Discoveries from a Secret World
Peter Wohlleben, Greystone Books, 9781771643771
9. Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old
Mary Beard, University of Chicago Press, 9780226834245
10. Hyperpolitics: Extreme Politicization without Political Consequences
Anton Jäger, Verso, 9781836742074
11. Mutual Aid: New and Expanded Edition: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)
Dean Spade, Verso, 9781836742555
12. The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary
Terry Tempest Williams, Grove Press, 9780802165848
13. A Philosophy of Walking
Frédéric Gros, John Howe (Transl.), Verso, 9781804290446
14. S.P.Q.R.: A History of Ancient Rome
Mary Beard, Liveright, 9781631492228
15. The Wreck of the Mentor: A True Story of Death, Despair, and Deliverance in the Age of Sail
Eric Jay Dolin, Liveright, 9781324096320
16. Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankl, Beacon Press, 9780807014271
17. We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution
Jill Lepore, Liveright, 9781631496080
18. Dangerous,  Dirty, Violent, and Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground
Zayd Ayers Dohrn, W. W. Norton & Company, 9781324089315
19. Ursula K. Le Guin's Book of Cats
Ursula K. Le Guin, Library of America, 9781598538298
20. A Philosophy of Shame: A Revolutionary Emotion
Frédéric Gros, Verso, 9781804294185
21. Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Oregon State University Press, 9780870714993
22. A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders: Surprising Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps
Jonn Elledge, The Experiment, 9798893030822
23. The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change
Rebecca Solnit, Haymarket Books, 9798888904510
24. These Truths: A History of the United States
Jill Lepore, W. W. Norton & Company, 9781324130765
25. The Wisdom of the Odyssey: Twenty-Four Life Lessons from Homer's Epic
Phil Cousineau, New World Library, 9781955831277
26. When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
Pema Chodron, Shambhala, 9781611803433
27. On Bullshit: Anniversary Edition
Harry G. Frankfurt, Princeton University Press, 9780691276786
28. How to Relax (Mindfulness Essentials #5)
Thich Nhat Hanh, Parallax Press, 9781941529089
29. The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music
Colin Asher, W. W. Norton & Company, 9781324051398
30. How to Love (Mindfulness Essentials #3)
Thich Nhat Hanh, Jason DeAntonis (Illus.), Parallax Press, 9781937006884
31. How to Defend Books and Why: Book Bans and How We Fight Them
Danny Caine, Microcosm Publishing, 9781648414084
32. The Wretched of the Earth
Frantz Fanon, Grove Press, 9780802158635
33. Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Liveright, 9781631499050
34. Country of Lords: Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight against Equality in America
Kim Phillips-Fein, W. W. Norton & Company, 9781324074441
35. Don't Believe Everything You Think: Why Your Thinking Is The Beginning & End Of Suffering
Joseph Nguyen, Authors Equity, 9798893310153
36. Capital From Zero: Reading Marx in the Age of Climate Catastrophe
KOHEI SAITO, Astra House, 9781662603419
37. I'm Just a Little Guy: How to Escape the Horrors and Get Back to Dillydallying
Charlie James, Paige Tompkins (Illus.), Quirk Books, 9781683694946
38. A Queer History of the United States: Revised And Expanded (ReVisioning History)
Michael Bronski, Beacon Press, 9780807054765
39. Thirty-Two Words for Field: Lost Words of the Irish Landscape
Manchán Magan, Chelsea Green, 9781645023760
40. Hiking Zen: Train Your Mind in Nature
Phap Xa, Phap Luu, Parallax Press, 9780984627141